Yesterday marked my participation in a local relay race for the second straight year. The Mt. Si Relay is a 57 mile relay race, consisting of teams of 5 runners. I formed a team again this year with 2 new members (Mollie and Dave) and we had a great time -- again! Last year was so much fun we decided to do it again -- and we can't wait for 2008. (Chris already posted a blog entry and pics on his site).

We finished 3rd in our division with a time of 7:48:35. We were beaten by severeal "solo" runners, which was quite humbling.

Here is a course profile map illustrating the overall progression of the relay legs:




I ran legs #2 and #7 again this year. I improved my times a little bit. Here are my splits compared:


2007 Mt Si Relay:

Leg #2: 5.6 miles, 42:02, 7:30 pace, avg HR=184
Leg #7: 7.3 miles, 59:55, 8:12 pace, avg HR=177


2006 Mt Si Relay:

Leg #2: 5.6 miles, 44:02, 7:51 pace, avg HR=175
Leg #7: 7.3 miles, 1:02:33, 8:34 pace, avg HR 176

I'm happy about the improvement in my speed, but more than that I am happy about how I felt during the race and how I feel now, the day after the race. Yesterday felt more like a training run than an actual "race" or "event". I think my body is finally learning how to deal with the overall load of a training regime. This time last year, I had such tremendous chronic pain in my right ankle and foot that I went to a podiatrist and had an MRI, and took a bunch of time off. Now, I feel great. That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment. The past year has been a huge test in patience for me and I think I'm finally reaching a new threshold of training opportunities. In other words, I haven't really accomplished anything -- yet. I've simply put myself in a position to START trying to get in shape. My body is finally along for the ride.

Here's a pic of my 2007 Team: